Aikido (Ueshiba) and Ki-Aikido (Tohei)

1. Introduction

Version followed: aikido as the Aikikai Foundation (Tokyo; Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba) publishes it, and Shinshin Toitsu Aikido (心身統一合氣道, "aikido with mind and body coordinated", often called Ki-Aikido) as the Ki Society publishes it; aikido-informed applications for psychotherapists, conflict resolution and somatic coaching are described as their own authors or organisers present them.

What it is. Aikido is a Japanese martial art, a budō (武道, "martial way"), not a psychotherapy. The Aikikai describes it as an art created by Morihei Ueshiba after training in traditional Japanese martial arts and "rigorous mental training". Its techniques use the body's structure so that, once a partner's balance is broken, the practitioner can apply a technique. There are no tournaments or competitions; practice is done in pairs who alternate between tori (the one who applies the technique) and uke (the one who receives it and falls or is pinned) [source: Aikikai, About Aikido]. A Nippon Budokan guide for school teachers (Japanese; translated summary) presents the founder's saying 武は愛なり, bu wa ai nari, "budo is love" (translation), and stresses mutual respect, cooperation and avoiding injury [source: Nippon Budokan, junior aikido guide, ch. 1]. The authorised history is Aikido: Its History and Practice by the current Doshu, Moriteru Ueshiba (Nippon Budokan, English translation by Yoshifumi Saito), which includes a chapter on the founder's encounters with Sokaku Takeda and Onisaburo Deguchi and a chapter on dan–kyu grading policy [source: Nippon Budokan book page]. The founder's links with Daitō-ryū and with the Ōmoto religious movement, and his dates, are given in that book and in the Aikikai history pages [uncertain: not verified].

Shinshin Toitsu Aikido was founded in 1974 by Koichi Tohei (described by the Ki Society as "10th Dan in Aikido"). Its core statement is "Mind moves Body": the state of the mind directly affects the state of the body. It teaches four principles to unify mind and body, five principles of technique, and the Ki test, a partner check of whether mind and body are coordinated [source: Ki Society, About]. Shinichi Tohei has led the Ki Society since his father's death in 2011 [source: book review of 気の呼吸]. Whether Tohei's 1974 founding involved a formal separation from the Aikikai, and the role of Tempu Nakamura's teaching in Tohei's method, are not covered by the sources here [uncertain].

How change is thought to happen (as the traditions state it). In aikido the stated aim is to discipline body and mind and cultivate "the strength of heart to reach self-victory", not to defeat others; the founder framed aiki as a path to make the world harmonious [source: Aikikai]. In Ki-Aikido, change comes from learning to coordinate mind and body, which is checked by Ki tests [source: Ki Society]. Ki (氣/気) is a concept of the tradition, with Shinto- and Ōmoto-derived spiritual teaching in the founder's background; this guide reports these concepts as the traditions hold them, not as established physiology. Applying aikido in psychotherapy is a developing field: a 2023 PRISMA systematic review (Gómez-Lozano et al.) found three areas of application (adolescence, recovery from PTSD, and mindfulness through aikido) and called for a proper intervention model and psychology and psychiatry expertise [source: Gómez-Lozano et al. 2023].

Who delivers it. Aikido and Ki-Aikido are taught by graded instructors within their own organisations, not by psychotherapists acting as psychotherapists. A psychotherapist may refer a client to a dojo and work alongside the teacher, may be an aikidoka who integrates aikido-informed principles into their own presence, or, if they also hold instructor status in an affiliated dojo, may teach classes as an instructor and not in the therapy role. No statutory regulation of aikido teaching is cited here [uncertain].

2. Framework

Two different frames. (a) The art as taught in a dojo, which is open-ended and lifelong, structured by kyu and dan grades. (b) The psychotherapist's work around it, which is psychotherapy as usual with a referral and integration strand. Aikido has no fixed course of sessions and no clinical phases; the phases below for the therapist are [synthesis].

(a) Dojo structure as published.

Pair practice in fixed roles that alternate (tori and uke), each technique repeated on both sides; partners do not attack first, and practice works only through cooperation [source: Nippon Budokan guide, translated summary].
Learning ukemi (受身, receiving and falling safely) is a core part of training from the start [source: Nippon Budokan guide].
Technique families include throws and pins (osae, 抑え), body movement (tai-sabaki, 体さばき) and distance (maai, 間合い) [source: Nippon Budokan guide, translated terms].
Grading: Aikikai uses kyu and dan grades. At Hombu Dojo, kyu examinations run from 5th to 1st kyu, each open after a minimum number of practice days since the previous grade; dan examinations from 1st to 4th dan add minimum intervals in years and practice days, with minimum ages of 15 for 1st dan and 22 for 4th dan. Content is organised by type of attack (grabs, strikes, thrusts, attacks from behind) in seated, half-standing and standing forms; from 2nd dan it adds knife-taking and more than one attacker, and written work is required at higher grades [source: Aikikai Hombu Dojo Examination Guidelines]. Outside Japan, dan grades are valid only when registered with the Hombu; a dojo head of sufficient rank in a Hombu-recognised organisation may examine the lower dan grades, higher grades go to the Hombu on recommendation, and the instructor titles fukushidoin, shidoin and shihan are tied to dan grade [source: Aikikai International Regulations, revised 2000]. Affiliated dojos publish their own syllabi, which vary; ask the dojo for its grading syllabus. The Aikikai also runs beginners', women's and children's classes at Hombu Dojo and lists overseas affiliated organisations [source: Aikikai site navigation].
Ki Society: practice includes Ki tests sitting, standing and in motion; the Society describes the Ki test as a way to check posture with mind and body coordinated [source: Ki Society]. Ki Society grading and instructor routes are not set out in this guide [uncertain]; ask the dojo.
Teaching authority: in the Aikikai, the Doshu (hereditary head, currently Moriteru Ueshiba) and the Hombu Dojo; in the Ki Society, the Tohei family leadership (currently Shinichi Tohei) and its headquarters [source: Aikikai; Ki Society; book review].

(b) The psychotherapist's phases [synthesis].

Exploration and fit (1–2 sessions within ordinary therapy): why the client is interested; goals (confidence, embodiment, handling conflict, social contact); readiness for touch and falls. Move on when the client has a clear, self-chosen reason and no unaddressed physical or psychological red flags.
Screening and clearance: physical screening and medical clearance where indicated; psychological screening for trauma triggers, dissociation, aggression, psychosis. Move on when the GP or physician has cleared the client where needed and the client has a consent and opt-out plan.
Choosing a dojo and preparing: affiliation, teacher, beginner class, ethics; rehearse how to say no to a partner or teacher. Move on when the client has visited or watched a class.
Practice and integration: the client trains under the instructor; therapy sessions include short debriefs on what happened in the body and in relationships. Ongoing.
Review: at intervals, check benefit, injuries and any harm; continue, adjust or stop.

3. Guiding principles

No competition [source: Aikikai]. Meaning for practice: present the dojo to clients as cooperative training, and treat a dojo culture of winning or hurting partners as a warning sign.
Practise without "feelings of warring with your partner" [source: Aikikai]. Meaning: conflict work in therapy can use the image of meeting force without fighting it, as a metaphor and not a rule.
Harmonious practice is safe; brute force "can often lead to injury" [source: Aikikai]. Meaning: ask clients whether their dojo matches force to skill.
Adjust force to the partner's ukemi level; mutual respect and sincerity [source: Nippon Budokan guide, translated]. Meaning: your client's skill at falling, not their enthusiasm, sets how hard they should be thrown.
Training has meaning only if used in society (attributed to Kisshomaru Ueshiba) [source: Aikikai]. Meaning: integration into daily relationships is a legitimate therapy goal.
"Mind moves Body" and the four principles: Keep One Point, Relax Completely, Keep Weight Underside, Extend Ki [source: Ki Society]. Meaning: these are the tradition's own teachings; use them as client language only if the client trains in Ki-Aikido.
Five principles of Shinshin Toitsu Aikido: Ki is extending; Know your opponent's mind; Respect your opponent's Ki; Put yourself in your opponent's place; Perform with confidence [source: Ki Society]. Meaning: the relational ones overlap with empathy and perspective-taking and can be discussed in therapy.
Ki and spiritual concepts are attributed, not asserted. Meaning: say "in aikido, ki is understood as…", never "your ki is blocked" [synthesis].
Consent before and during all touch, with a right to stop at any time; never sexual touch. Body-psychotherapy codes state this explicitly (USABP VIII; EABP Principle 7); mainstream codes forbid sexual contact (e.g. APA 10.05) [source: USABP; EABP; APA]. Meaning: the client's right to tap out, sit out or leave is non-negotiable and is rehearsed in therapy.
Stay in your role. Meaning: the psychotherapist does not throw, pin or Ki-test a client in session unless their own profession's code allows touch, they hold the training, and explicit consent is given; refer physical practice to the dojo [synthesis; competence clauses in BACP, UKCP, APA].

4. Intervention inventory

The inventory has three parts. A covers what the psychotherapist does (assessment, referral, preparation, integration, harm response). Most of this is [synthesis] built on the published features of the arts and on professional codes. B covers the practices of the arts as their organisations publish them, so the therapist knows what the client will meet. A graded instructor teaches these; they are not for the therapist to teach in session, and no counts, durations or intensities are given. C covers aikido-informed applications in psychotherapy, conflict resolution and coaching, attributed to their originators.

A1. Exploring motive and fit

Purpose: Find out why the client wants aikido and whether a dojo is a good vehicle for their goals (e.g. embodiment, confidence, non-violent assertiveness, community) [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Ask what draws them (film image, friend, self-defence fear, spiritual interest). (2) Explain what aikido is as the Aikikai describes it: cooperative pair practice, no competition, being thrown and pinned as uke [source: Aikikai]. (3) Compare it with Ki-Aikido's emphasis on mind-body coordination and Ki tests [source: Ki Society]. (4) Check expectations. Aikido is not a quick self-defence course or a treatment, and benefit claims are still under study [source: Gómez-Lozano et al. 2023]. (5) Agree on what the client hopes to notice, so you can review it later.
Example language (illustrative): "In aikido you'll spend half your time being thrown or held, and learning to fall well. How does that sit with you?" / "What would you like to be different in your body or in your relationships after a few months of training?"
Watch for: A wish to become dangerous or to get revenge. A wish to replay abuse in order to master it. Spiritual seeking that could make the client vulnerable to a teacher's authority. Unrealistic health expectations. Working when: the client states a self-chosen, realistic reason.

A2. Physical safety screening and medical clearance

Purpose: Reduce injury risk in an art that involves throws, joint locks, pins and repeated falls [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Explain that aikido carries real injury risk. A UK questionnaire study of 75 adult Aikikai practitioners reported that aikido "carries a high risk of injury". Injury correlated with training more than three sessions a week and with high rank (the authors call the evidence tentative) [source: Smith 2018]. The Aikikai warns that forceful practice "can often lead to injury" [source: Aikikai]. (2) Ask about conditions where falls, joint locks or neck flexion may be risky. These include osteoporosis or fragility fractures; previous concussion; neck or spinal problems; shoulder, elbow or wrist instability; joint hypermobility; recent surgery; anticoagulant use or bleeding disorders; pregnancy; uncontrolled hypertension or heart disease; epilepsy; balance disorders [synthesis: general sports-medicine caution; no aikido-specific official contraindication list was found]. (3) If any apply, or if the client is older or deconditioned, advise them to get medical clearance from their GP or physician before starting, and to tell the instructor. (4) Advise a beginners' class where ukemi is taught first [source: Nippon Budokan guide; Aikikai lists beginners' classes].
Example language (illustrative): "Before you start, I'd like you to check with your doctor because of your shoulder. Then tell the teacher on day one, so they can keep you off the harder falls until you're ready."
Watch for: Minimising injuries ("it's just a bit of pain"). Training through pain to please the teacher. Escalating training frequency (a risk factor in Smith 2018). Working when: the client has clearance where needed and has told the instructor.

A3. Psychological screening: trauma, touch, aggression, dissociation, psychosis

Purpose: Anticipate psychological reactions to being grabbed, held down or thrown, and to a hierarchy [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Map triggers: wrist grabs, chokes or neck contact, rear attacks, being pinned face-down, a partner's body weight, shouting (kiai), bowing or kneeling to an authority. (2) Ask about dissociation under stress and how the client notices it. (3) Assess aggression risk and impulse control. Joint locks can injure a partner, so a client with poorly controlled anger needs a plan, and sometimes a decision to delay. (4) For psychosis, or for a client drawn mainly to ki or spiritual teachings, be cautious about practices framed in energy terms; prefer stability first. (5) If the client has PTSD, note that recovery from PTSD is one of the application areas the 2023 review identified, but there is no established protocol [source: Gómez-Lozano et al. 2023]. Decide together whether to start now or after stabilisation.
Example language (illustrative): "Some parts of practice involve being held at the wrist or from behind, or pinned to the mat. Which of those, if any, might bring back old memories?" / "If you noticed you were going numb or far away on the mat, what would you do?"
Watch for: Freeze or collapse responses during discussion. Excitement about "finally being able to hurt someone". Grandiose ki beliefs. Working when: the client can name their triggers and has an exit plan.

A4. Building a consent and opt-out plan for partner practice

Purpose: Make sure the client knows they may decline, stop or modify any touch, technique or fall at any moment. Body-psychotherapy codes make the right to refuse or end touch at any time explicit (USABP VIII.5), and sexual touch is never acceptable [source: USABP; EABP; APA 10.05].
Steps: (1) Explain that in the dojo the instructor, not you, manages consent, and that cultures differ. (2) Rehearse concrete signals: tapping the mat or partner to release a joint lock or pin (a common martial-arts convention; confirm with the dojo [uncertain]); saying "stop"; sitting out at the edge of the mat. (3) Help the client prepare a sentence for the instructor before class, for example about avoiding rear attacks or pins at first. (4) Agree on what counts as unacceptable: sexual comments or touch, being pressured to continue when hurt, punitive throws. Agree that the client reports such things and may leave.
Example language (illustrative): "You never have to earn the right to stop. If a lock hurts, you tap; if something feels wrong, you step off the mat. Let's practise how you'd say that to the teacher."
Watch for: Deference to rank that overrides self-protection. Shame about "being weak". Working when: the client reports using a stop signal, or reports that they could have.

A5. Choosing a dojo and teacher

Purpose: Steer the client toward affiliated, safety-minded teaching [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Check the affiliation. The Aikikai lists overseas organisations, and the Ki Society lists dojos by country [source: Aikikai; Ki Society]. (2) Ask whether there is a beginners' class, how ukemi is taught, and how force is matched to the partner's level [source: Nippon Budokan guide]. (3) Ask whether the dojo has a code of conduct or safeguarding policy. The Aikikai publishes an Ethic Charter and a Code of Conduct (contents not summarised here [uncertain]; ask the dojo how it applies them). (4) Suggest the client watch a class first. (5) For Ki-Aikido, expect Ki tests and principle-based teaching; for Aikikai dojos, expect technique-based pair practice.
Example language (illustrative): "When you visit, notice how people are thrown: carefully, matched to their level, or hard to make a point? And notice how the teacher responds when someone says no."
Watch for: Secrecy, demands for loyalty or money, teachers who humiliate students or encourage injury. Discouraging students from training elsewhere or seeing outside professionals [synthesis]. Working when: the client chooses a dojo with a beginners' pathway and a clear conduct policy.

A6. Integration debriefs in therapy

Purpose: Link dojo experience to the therapy goals (assertiveness, staying present under pressure, relationship to authority, being cared for in a fall) [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Open with a brief check of the body and of any injuries. (2) Ask for one moment that stood out: being uke, being tori, a fall, a partner, the teacher. (3) Track bodily experience, emotion and meaning in that order. (4) Link to daily life, echoing Kisshomaru Ueshiba's view that training matters only if used in society [source: Aikikai]. (5) If the client trains in Ki-Aikido, let them use their own terms ("keep one point") rather than introducing them yourself.
Example language (illustrative): "When your partner grabbed your wrist this week, what happened first in your body?" / "You said you could fall without bracing. Where else in your life would that be useful, or not?"
Watch for: Re-enactment of abuse with a teacher or partner. Using the dojo to avoid emotional work. Idealising the teacher. Working when: the client spontaneously applies a dojo experience to a real interpersonal situation.

A7. Recognising harm and passing it on

Purpose: Respond to physical injury, psychological harm or organisational abuse [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Ask about injuries at each review; refer to medical care for any suspected head, neck or joint injury. (2) Ask about the dojo climate (pressure, humiliation, sexual boundary violations). (3) If abuse is disclosed, follow safeguarding and reporting duties in your jurisdiction. Support the client to complain to the dojo's governing organisation (Aikikai-affiliated national body, or Ki Society) and, where a crime is involved, to the police. (4) If the client is a minor, apply child safeguarding procedures. (5) Help the client decide whether to stop, change dojo or continue. No published reports of abusive dynamics in specific aikido organisations are summarised here [uncertain: not verified].
Example language (illustrative): "What you've described, being thrown hard after you asked to stop, isn't part of the art as its own organisations describe it. Let's think about who you can report it to, and whether you want to go back."
Watch for: Self-blame ("I wasn't good at ukemi"). Loyalty conflicts. Fear of losing community. Working when: the client is safe and has made an informed choice.

B1. Etiquette (礼法, reihō) and dojo attitude

Purpose: As published, aikido practice requires humility, respect for others and following rules, and practitioners reflect on their own conduct in partner work [source: Nippon Budokan guide, translated summary].
Steps (as the client will meet them, taught by the instructor): The client follows bowing and dojo rules as the instructor teaches them, practises with sincerity toward partners, and reflects on their own conduct. Ceremonial forms (for example any shrine or kamiza observance a dojo keeps) belong to the tradition and are described here only, not proceduralised [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative, therapist): "How was it for you to bow to a partner and a teacher? Did it feel like respect, or like submission?"
Watch for: Religious or cultural discomfort (the client may ask the dojo whether any observance is optional). Clients with histories of coercive authority. Working when: the client experiences etiquette as mutual respect, not humiliation.

B2. Tori–uke partner practice

Purpose: The basic learning format. Partners alternate roles, repeat techniques on both sides and cooperate; resisting a partner's movement stops the training from working [source: Aikikai; Nippon Budokan guide].
Steps (taught by the instructor): The instructor demonstrates; partners bow, practise in turn as tori and uke, change sides, then change roles. Neither attacks first in a hostile sense, and force is adjusted to the partner's ukemi level [source: Nippon Budokan guide].
Example language (illustrative, therapist): "Which role felt more natural, giving or receiving? What did that tell you?"
Watch for: Rough partners; a client who cannot tolerate being uke, or who cannot stop being uke (always yielding). Working when: the client can move flexibly between roles and talk about it.

B3. Ukemi (受身, receiving and falling)

Purpose: To receive techniques and fall safely; in the Budokan guide it is a core skill and one of aikido's enjoyable aspects [source: Nippon Budokan guide].
Steps: Taught progressively by a qualified instructor on mats. Not taught by the therapist, and not described here as a procedure. Skill at ukemi governs how hard a partner may throw [source: Nippon Budokan guide].
Example language (illustrative, therapist): "What's it like to let yourself go down, knowing you can get up again?"
Watch for: Head, neck, shoulder and wrist injury; dizziness; fear of falling linked to past assaults or falls; older or osteoporotic clients [synthesis]. Working when: falls become controlled and less fearful, and the client reports no injury.

B4. Body movement (体さばき, tai-sabaki) and distance (間合い, maai)

Purpose: Moving the whole body to avoid or redirect an attack, and managing distance from a partner [source: Nippon Budokan guide, translated terms].
Steps: Taught by the instructor in solo and paired drills. Two basic movements are irimi (entering: stepping in and to the side of the attacker) and tenkan (turning: pivoting to redirect the attack) [source: Nippon Budokan, Introduction of Budo Disciplines 3].
Example language (illustrative, therapist): "You said you learned to step off the line instead of meeting the push head-on. Is there a conversation where you'd like to try that?"
Watch for: Using movement metaphors to avoid necessary confrontation. Working when: the client applies distance and angle choices in conflict without either collapsing or attacking.

B5. Throwing and pinning techniques (nage and osae)

Purpose: The technical content of the art. The partner is thrown or pinned once balance is broken [source: Aikikai; Nippon Budokan guide].
Steps: Taught only by graded instructors. Pins involve joint locks on wrist, elbow and shoulder; force must be matched to the partner; brute force leads to injury [source: Aikikai; Nippon Budokan guide]. No technique steps are given here.
Example language (illustrative, therapist): "When you were holding your partner down, what did you feel, power, care, guilt?"
Watch for: Joint injuries; excitement about hurting; a client being pinned face-down with trauma history. Working when: the client can apply control with care and receive it without panic.

B6. Ki-Aikido: the four principles to unify mind and body

Purpose: The Ki Society's foundation, "Mind moves Body". The four principles are Keep One Point, Relax Completely, Keep Weight Underside, Extend Ki; mastering one brings the others, and losing one loses all [source: Ki Society].
Steps: Taught by Ki Society instructors, in class and in Ki tests. The concept of the "one point" (a point below the navel in the tradition's teaching) and ki are concepts of the tradition [source: Ki Society; book review of 気の呼吸; location of the one point: [uncertain]].
Example language (illustrative, therapist): "In your class they talk about 'keeping one point'. When you did that before the meeting, what changed for you?"
Watch for: Literal energy beliefs feeding anxiety or magical thinking; self-criticism for "losing" the principles. Working when: the client uses the principles as a calming, organising self-cue.

B7. Ki tests (気のテスト)

Purpose: A partner checks whether mind and body are coordinated, while sitting, standing or moving [source: Ki Society]. A reviewer of Shinichi Tohei's 気の呼吸 notes that the tests need only a partner and are a main difference from other aikido styles [source: book review; translation by reviewer].
Steps: Done in class with a trained instructor and involve touch (a partner applies light pressure or a push to test stability; detail of each test [uncertain]). A psychotherapist should not run physical Ki tests in session without Ki Society training, their code's permission for touch, and explicit consent [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative, therapist): "How did it feel when your partner tested you and you stayed steady? How about when you didn't?"
Watch for: Interpreting "failing" a test as personal failure; suggestion effects; touch triggers. Working when: the client reports increased steadiness and self-trust without dependence on the test.

B8. Five principles of Shinshin Toitsu Aikido

Purpose: Principles for performing technique: Ki is extending; Know your opponent's mind; Respect your opponent's Ki; Put yourself in your opponent's place; Perform with confidence [source: Ki Society].
Steps: Taught by Ki Society instructors through technique. In therapy, the relational principles can be discussed as perspective-taking and respect in conflict [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Your dojo says 'put yourself in your opponent's place'. What would that look like with your brother?"
Watch for: Over-accommodation of abusive others under the banner of "respecting their ki". Working when: the client combines empathy with boundaries.

B9. Ki breathing (気の呼吸), Ki meditation and Kiatsu

Purpose: The Ki Society teaches further practices beyond technique. Shinichi Tohei's book 気の呼吸 (Ki Breathing, Sunmark, c. 2021; reviewer translation of the subtitle: "to use your mind and body fully") covers Ki principles, Ki breathing and the one point. Koichi Tohei wrote Kiatsu [source: book review; Ki Society news]. Their content and procedures are not described here [uncertain].
Steps: Learned from Ki Society instructors only. No breathing timings, retention or durations are given here. Kiatsu is a hands-on method of the Ki Society; it is not psychotherapy, and no health claims are made here.
Example language (illustrative): "Tell me about the breathing practice you do at the dojo. How do you feel afterwards?"
Watch for: Dizziness or tingling (possible over-breathing), panic, dissociation; claims that ki practice treats physical disease (redirect to medical care) [synthesis]. Working when: the practice helps regulation without symptoms.

C1. Aikido-informed therapist presence: centring and blending

Purpose: Using aikido training to develop the therapist's own presence. A 2010 one-day seminar for psychotherapists at the ITP Dojo, Palo Alto (instructors including Robert Frager and David Lukoff) taught staying centred when challenged and blending empathically with clients, reading what clients hold in their bodies, and therapist self-care; a low-impact section was offered for non-aikidoists [source: ITP seminar page].
Steps: Train in aikido or attend such workshops; then, in session, use the felt sense of centre to stay steady under a client's anger, and "blend" by first moving with the client's position before redirecting [source: seminar aims; in-session steps are [synthesis]].
Example language (illustrative): "I can hear how angry you are with me. Let me stay with that for a moment before we look at what happened."
Watch for: Using "blending" to avoid necessary limits; performance of calm that is not felt. Working when: you stay regulated and curious during ruptures.

C2. Conflict-resolution applications

Purpose: Aiki Extensions (founded 1998) works to "deepen and extend" aikido as an art of peace, with projects in schools and centres for at-risk youth, in healing and expressive arts, and in social harmony [source: Aiki Extensions description on ITP seminar page]. Richard Strozzi-Heckler co-founded the Mideast Aikido Project, bringing Palestinians and Israelis together [source: Strozzi Institute]. Thomas Crum's The Magic of Conflict applies aiki ideas to everyday conflict [uncertain].
Steps: For clients, the therapist may suggest such programmes as an adjunct, or use aiki concepts (centre, blending, redirecting) as metaphors in conflict work [synthesis]. No standard protocol was found.
Example language (illustrative): "Instead of blocking his criticism or collapsing under it, could you step alongside it first: 'You're worried the deadline's slipping'?"
Watch for: Applying "blend and redirect" to situations of abuse or danger, where safety planning comes first. Working when: conflicts de-escalate without the client abandoning their needs.

C3. Aikido-informed somatic coaching (Strozzi) and leadership embodiment

Purpose: Richard Strozzi-Heckler (PhD in psychology, seventh-degree black belt, Shihan in aikido) created the Strozzi Somatics methodology and offers a somatic coach certification; his clients include corporations, NGOs and the US government and military. The institute publishes no outcome data [source: Strozzi Institute]. Wendy Palmer's "Conscious Embodiment" and leadership embodiment approaches are also aikido-informed [uncertain].
Steps: Treat these as coaching, not psychotherapy. Refer clients who want them; collaborate if the client consents; keep clinical treatment in therapy [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "That programme is coaching rather than therapy. It may help how you carry yourself at work, and we'd keep working here on the anxiety underneath."
Watch for: Trauma surfacing in coaching without clinical containment. Working when: coaching and therapy goals complement each other.

C4. Low-impact, no-touch embodiment check in session [synthesis]

Purpose: For a client who trains, briefly bring a dojo-learned self-cue into session to support regulation, without touch and without teaching the art.
Steps: (1) Ask permission. (2) Invite the client to stand or sit as they do in class and recall their own cue (e.g. their dojo's "one point" or "centre"). (3) Ask them to notice breath, weight and feeling, with no breathing pattern or time set. (4) Bring in the difficult topic and ask what changes. (5) Debrief. Do not push, grab or test the client.
Example language (illustrative): "If it helps, stand the way you do at the dojo and find your centre in your own way. Now think about tomorrow's call. What happens?"
Watch for: Dissociation, dizziness, shame at "not doing it right". Working when: the client reports steadiness they can repeat outside the room.

5. Handling problems

The sources do not address clinical problem-handling. Everything in this section is [synthesis] unless a source is named.

Injury, or pain the client is training through. Stop and assess, and refer to medical care. Explore any pressure, internal or from the dojo, to keep going. Remind the client that the Aikikai itself links forceful practice to injury [source: Aikikai] and that injury in aikido is associated with training frequency [source: Smith 2018]. Language (illustrative): "Your body is telling you something. What would it mean to take a week off the mat?"
Panic, flashback or dissociation during practice. Agree in advance that the client steps off the mat and uses grounding they already know. Afterwards, debrief which element triggered it (a grab, a pin, a partner's weight, a rear attack). Help the client ask the instructor for a temporary modification, or pause training until stabilisation work has progressed. Language (illustrative): "Being pinned face-down took you straight back. That makes sense. Shall we decide together what to ask your teacher for?"
Aggression or wish to hurt. Address it in therapy before the client continues joint-lock practice. If there is a risk to partners, advise pausing. Never collude with revenge fantasies. Language (illustrative): "I'm concerned about what happens if that anger shows up while you're holding someone's wrist."
Over-compliance (always uke, unable to say no). Rehearse refusals (see A4). Track successes. Explore links to past coercion.
Idealisation of the teacher or the tradition; dependency. Normalise respect while naming limits. Watch for the teacher giving life or psychological advice, and for the client giving up therapy or medical care because of ki beliefs. If coercive control, financial exploitation or sexual misconduct is disclosed, follow A7 and reporting duties.
Magical thinking or psychotic features linked to ki teachings. Keep spiritual and energy language attributed ("your teacher teaches that…"). Assess mental state and liaise with psychiatry if symptoms emerge. Advise pausing intensive ki-focused practice.
Stuck or bored client, non-attendance. Return to the original motive (A1). Consider a different dojo, class level or style (Aikikai-style technique practice versus Ki-Aikido's Ki tests), or stopping. Aikido is optional, not a treatment requirement.
Rupture with the therapist over the referral (e.g. the client feels pushed into physical risk, or feels you dismiss their spiritual interest). Acknowledge it, return the decision to the client, and repair before revisiting.
Cultural or religious discomfort with bowing or shrine-related etiquette. Explore the client's values. Suggest asking the dojo what is optional. Respect a decision not to train.
Therapist who is also an aikidoka. Avoid dual relationships: do not train with, teach or grade current clients, and do not recruit clients to your own dojo (BACP para 33(b); UKCP item 8; APA 3.05 on multiple relationships) [source: codes as summarised in the touch and ethics notes listed under Sources]. Do not use throws, pins or Ki tests in session unless your code permits touch, you hold the training and you have explicit, ongoing consent. Body-psychotherapy codes require informed consent before touch, periodic re-checking and the right to refuse at any time (USABP VIII.2–VIII.5) [source: USABP]. Mainstream codes (BACP, UKCP, APA) contain no explicit touch clause but all prohibit sexual contact, and the APA bars sexual intimacies with current clients (10.05) [source: APA; BACP; UKCP].
Children and adolescents. Adolescence is one of the application areas in the 2023 review [source: Gómez-Lozano et al. 2023]. For minors, involve parents or carers, obtain assent and consent, and check the dojo's safeguarding and children's-class arrangements (the Aikikai Hombu Dojo runs a children's class [source: Aikikai site]).
Health claims. If the client or dojo presents aikido, Ki breathing or Kiatsu as a treatment for physical illness, make sure medical care continues. Psychotherapeutic benefit is still being studied, and the 2023 review calls for an intervention model and more expert analysis [source: Gómez-Lozano et al. 2023].

Sources

Books and papers cited:

Gómez-Lozano, S., Hurtado-Guapo, M. A., Kelly-Lahon, C., Arce-Moreno, J., León, K., & Vargas-Macías, A. (2023). A systematic review on the application of Aikido as a psychosomatic tool in therapeutic setting (Part I). Archivos de Medicina del Deporte, 40(4), 200–207. doi:10.18176/archmeddeporte.00136
Smith, P. (2018). The injury rate within the martial art of aikido. Archives of Budo Science of Martial Arts and Extreme Sports, 14.
Ueshiba, Moriteru. (2026). Aikido: Its History and Practice (trans. Yoshifumi Saito). Tokyo: Nippon Budokan. ISBN 978-4-907009-49-6 [details: National Diet Library record].
Tohei, Shin'ichi (藤平信一). (c. 2021). 気の呼吸 (Ki Breathing). Sunmark Publishing. [Year approximate: uncertain]
Tohei, Koichi. Kiatsu (Spanish edition announced by the Ki Society, 2026). [original edition details uncertain]
Crum, Thomas F. The Magic of Conflict. [details uncertain]
Palmer, Wendy. Works on "Conscious Embodiment". [details uncertain]

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